Broken Love
by Sketcher1994
Summary: Levy sipped at her hot chocolate, barely aware of her surroundings as her book continued to entrance her. She did not notice the heavy, grey rain hammering violently at the window next to her, nor the man watching her through it. Had she noticed him, she might have felt mildly uncomfortable by this point, for he had been staring at her for the past ten minutes. For MakeItHale.


**AN: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima!**

 **So, after the last email I got from _MakeItHale,_ I had to write something. So, here's something to cheer up everyone suffering from an overdose of Gajevy angst!**

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Levy quietly sipped at her hot chocolate, barely aware of her surroundings as her book continued to entrance her. She did not notice the heavy, grey rain hammering violently at the window next to her, nor the man watching her through it. Had she noticed him, she might have felt mildly uncomfortable by this point, for he had been staring at her for the past ten minutes. He stood in the pounding rain, unable to decide if his eyes were deceiving him.

A chilling breeze rushed passed her and she shivered, momentarily bringing her attention to the present. She pulled her cardigan tighter around her and glanced around the little, rustic cafe. She spotted the newcomer standing by the till. She vaguely registered his impressive height and the fact that he was clearly soaked through, before returning to her book. Had she paid him more attention, she would have realised that he in fact still calmly watching her out the corner of his eye. He paid for his coffee and awkwardly attempted to sort his saturated hair.

Levy tensed as she felt someone sit across from her. She had not been expecting anyone and she was sure the only person that had come in had been the abnormally tall man. She peeked over her book, unsure of why someone had chosen her company when she was clearly reading. She blinked, unaware of her jaw becoming slack. The giant had shaggy, short, thick black hair and tanned skin. His crimson eyes were sharp and searching as they looked into hers. His face still held those almost painfully familiar piercings.

"Hey, Shrimp." He offered, watching her for some sort of reaction other than surprise.

"Ga-Gajeel?" She gaped, barely able to register her ex-boyfriend's sudden appearance.

"Yeah, Shrimp, it's me." He smirked back. "Didn't think I'd look that different with my hair short."

"Sorry, I just- How long has it been?" She asked, still trying to gather her thoughts as she became aware of how much more mature he seemed now.

"Six years since ya left for college and never returned." He stated, turning his attention to his steaming coffee. He was still sitting in his damp coat, very aware of the fact it had began to leak. He just wasn't ready to take it off yet.

"Sorry, but by the time I'd finished, I'd built a life out there." Levy explained quietly, biting her lip as she remembered how she'd left thinks with him. "I graduated?"

"Yeah, I seen it in the paper two years ago," he hummed, taking a sip of the warming, bitter liquid, "congrats."

"'Saw', Gajeel." She frowned as she placed her bookmark into her book and closed the heavy leather-bound cover.

"Ya really gonna keep giving me language lessons?" He sighed, sitting back in his chair. "Yer hair's gotten longer." He mused, resisting the urge to reach across to demonstrate. "Yer straightening it too."

"Are you still just a big kid?" She returned, as much annoyed with herself for correcting him as him for, well, just appearing. "And what's wrong with it? I like it."

"Yeah, I'm the kid." He snorted sarcastically, taking a gulp of his coffee. This had been a bad idea. He'd forgotten there had been more to the break-up.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Levy frowned, watching him stupidly try to gulp his coffee. She held in her giggle as he pulled a face, having just burned his tongue.

"How am I the kid when I was the one willing to try long distance," he sighed, silently cursing as his tongue throbbed, "and you were the one who gave up?"

"We tried long distance, Gajeel, and it just didn't work, remember? I was busy with college and my job and you were busy too." She pointed out, trying not to sound bitter. "When we did see each other, you were too busy being jealous."

"Yeah, and turns out I was right to be." He grunted, narrowing his eyes at her as he dared her to deny the truth.

"Not at the time, Gajeel." She returned, determined to not let him make her feel even slightly guilty.

"How is he now, anyway? He build you a fancy house with a giant library?" Gajeel asked, his voice more bitter than the overly strong coffee.

"No, he didn't." She stated before finishing her hot chocolate. "It never came to anything."

"I seen the engagement in the paper six months ago, Shrimp." He sighed, hardly able to believe she was still trying to deny that she had liked the guy as more than just a friend. "That's why I could barely believe it when you were sitting here in your usual spot. I couldn't just walk past until I was sure whether or not it was you...Then I just couldn't walk away."

"Even after you wrote that song about me breaking your heart?" She asked quietly, staring at the empty mug and suddenly wishing she hadn't finished it. "Congratulations on getting a number one."

"Yeah, and unfortunately the entire world knows I've never gotten over you," he mused, looking down into his coffee, "even if they don't know your name. I get asked about you at every damn interview. They keep asking why I didn't just move away with you."

"Your record company is here and so is your sister, Gajeel. We both agreed that it wasn't fair on her for you to drag her halfway across the country, especially since she'd just started high school a year earlier." Levy reminded him softly.

"And now ya're marrying another guy." He sighed, offering her a small smile as he tried to search her large, beautiful, hazel eyes for some tiny trace of hope.

"And now I'm sleeping in Lucy and Natsu's spare room." She corrected, her voice serious, before a smile infected the corners of her mouth. "I told you, it didn't come to anything. We did move in with each other seven months ago, got engaged a month later, then broke up two months after that. I hung around for four months and decided I just missed everyone too much."

"So you came back?" He frowned, hardly able to believe his ears.

"And I'm here to stay." She grinned back at him.

"Really?" He questioned, unsure if she was just making fun of him.

"Isn't the little girl you hired me to look after still around?" She teased, watching as his lips formed a smirk and his crimson eyes smiled.

"Yeah, the kid's still around." He confirmed, a proud air radiating from him. "She doesn't really need to be looked after anymore though. In fact, when she's not at college, she's looking after me!"

"Well, that just won't do!" She returned, pretending to be disappointed in him. "How can you expect her to manage both her studies and looking after you? Looking after you is practically a full-time job!"

"Yeah, I should maybe find a housekeeper, huh?" He nodded thoughtfully, sharing her grin. "How would I go about getting one of those? An ad in the paper clearly doesn't work, 'cause the babysitter I found for my sister didn't stay."

"Hmmm, I don't know. Perhaps you could ask around your friends for a suggestion?" She hummed, pretending to be completely innocent. "Of course, they'd still need to be able to work."

"Yeah, and there's no way in hell I'm letting them cook." He nodded, trying to hold back his grin.

"What's wrong with their cooking?" She frowned, still grinning internally, even with his jab.

"Oh, they practically cremate everything." He smirked as he finished his coffee. "Although, there is one more thing."

"What's that?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at him suspiciously.

"I'd prefer a live-in one," Gajeel continued, pretending to stare absently out the window, "but I don't know what I'd do about the only having two rooms situation."

"You know, if you ask Lucy nicely, she might know just the 'housekeeper' for you." Levy hinted with a coy smile as she picked up her mug to finish her hot chocolate. Her face flushed as Gajeel's chuckle met her ears; she'd forgotten she'd already finished it. "Very funny..." She mumbled, wanting to hide her face in her hands.

"So, does this mean ya'll give me another chance?" He murmured, sliding his hand across the table to remove her hand from her empty mug. He sat holding her delicate hand in his giant, scarred one, silently waiting for her answer.

"Of course, Gajeel." She smiled, squeezing his hand as a tear rolled down her cheek. "I've missed you."


End file.
